<P><FONT color=#33711E><STRONG>Day 1 – Session 2A: <br>UNESCO National Commission Initiatives for ESD</STRONG></FONT></P>
Rainbow Room, 5th Floor
16:30 - 16:50
2.A.1 Implementation of the DESD in New Zealand
Hayden Montgomerie, Education, Youth and Human Rights, New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO
This paper shares the experiences of the New Zealand National Commission in dealing with the implementation of the UN Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) within New Zealand. The paper consists of three main parts. First, it describes the New Zealand response to the DESD over the past three years. Second, it explores how Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can be linked with existing UNESCO Educational Initiatives, such as the Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet), the World Heritage Education Project (WHE), and Adult Learners Week (ALW). Finally, it examines the role that the New Zealand UNESCO National Commission could play in harnessing UNESCO National Commissions towards achieving the goals of the UN DESD.
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16.50 - 17.10
2.A.2. Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO: Initiatives for ESD
K. Prasanna Chandith, Deputy Secretary-General, Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO
This paper describes the role and goals of the Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO regarding Education for Sustainable Development. The Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO is the focal point for UNESCO activities in Sri Lanka, and disseminates concepts and ideas from UNESCO to the Ministries of Education, Culture, Science and Technology, Mass Media and Information, and to other Ministries involved in topics related to UNESCO’s mandate. One such “topic” is Education for Peace and Sustainable Development. The National Commission works closely with the Ministry of Education and has worked to establish a separate unit in the Ministry for promoting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). ESD is very important for Sri Lanka’s future because it encompasses many important, interlinked issues. Knowledge about these issues will help students to become more aware of the need to respect human dignity and rights and to respect the environment and the resources on which our lives and livelihoods depend. The National Commission recognizes that ESD activities require a coordinated effort by the various Ministries, Departments, NGO’s and organizations in Sri Lanka, and the National Commission aims to play a role in enhancing and improving coordination in this area.
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17:10–17:20
2.A.3. The Experience of using the Montessori System with regard to the UNESCO Lifelong Learning Centre for Sustainable Development of the Philippines
Preciosa S. Soliven, Secretary-General, UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines
When the decade 2005 to 2014 was declared as the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, with UNESCO as the lead agency, the issue of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) became a global campaign. This declaration pointed to the necessity of building human capacity to meet both the needs of the present and the future. Education is a process of learning how to become, how to change, how to transform and fulfill life. ESD should be based on the true nature of the child. To reach the goals of the Decade of ESD, we must veer away from pedagogy to psychology. Through Executive Order 483, the Philippines Government issued a national policy on ESD “establishing the UNESCO Lifelong Learning Centre for Sustainable Development of the Philippines” and “designating the Operation Brotherhood Montessori Center Inc. as the national laboratory of the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, as well as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority” to address the life-skills educational requirements for reaching the DESD goals. The Centre will share its facilities, experiences and technical expertise with Member States of the Asia-Pacific region.
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